Electric Goes to Extremes

The gas-guzzling Hummer was huge, heavy, and easy to hate. A new battery-powered version is a twist on the old stereotype

- Hannah Elliott

The Hummer EV is rugged enough for camping, as long as you can figure out a way to charge it now and then

There may be no more polarizing vehicle than the Hummer EV. The more-than-9,000-pound, $112,595 pickup from General Motors Co. is a gargantuan remake of the military vehicle that AM General first tamed for civilians in 1992. (GM bought the brand in 1998.) It's 1,000 horsepower of muscled Americana with knobby tires and a ridiculous launch mode that will further inflate the swollen egos of those who engage it. It's as tall as a tank with a hood extending to the height of my shoulder. Nobody needs this truck.

On the other hand, it's electric! The driving range is 329 miles-about 100 miles fewer than the H2 could go on a full 32-gallon tank-and can charge to 100 miles in 12 minutes using a 800v DC fast-charger. Blissfully silent on my drive outside Scottsdale, Ariz., in March, it passed wild donkeys in the desert without so much as a flick of a furry ear.

So is it a paean to gluttony or an ode to innovation? The Hummer EV will divide opinions, but anyone can deduce its primary purpose simply by walking around it. This powerful machine is meant to signal the status of its owner. (Some might say it overcompensates for said status.) It excels at carrying sports and outdoor gear in its flatbed, and it's rugged enough to use for camping or exploring hard-to-access locales, as long as you can figure out a way to charge it every other day or so. Towing things, driving through extreme temperatures, running the air conditioner, and so forth will deplete the battery faster. It will make a fine support mule when you want a home base pickup for a weekend of riding dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles, but be wary when planning adventures.